EVALUASI PERTUMBUHAN DAN KARAKTERISTIK TANAMAN JATI YANG DIBERI PERLAKUAN KOLKISIN

Teak is Perum Perhutani�s main product so teak improvement and silviculture activities should be developed to get superior ones. The results of the existing breeding in the forms of clonal seed orchard and hedge orchard have resulted in certified superior teaks. However, efforts to get other superior teak have to be done continuously to enrich genetic material of superior teaks. One effort to acquire superior teak is through ploidy manipulation. Plants with colchicine treatment are expected to be tetraploid, which generally have greater performance. This research aims to determine the effect of colchicine application on teak�s characteristics and growth in the field up to 15 month old. This activity consists of 3 phases: (1) ploidy manipulation in the laboratory, (2) planting and maintenance of tetraploid teak in the field, (3) growth and characteristics evaluation of teak tetraploid plants. The study used two kinds of teak, i.e. families number 97 and 110. For three consecutive days, 0.2 % colchicine was dropped each morning on to the bud (first leaf) in vitro. Plants which were proved to be tetraploid were planted in the field along with diploid plants as a comparison. The experiment was using a randomized block design with 3 repetitions. Results showed that the concentration of 0.2 % colchicine could make teak to be tetraploidy. In population, height growth of tetraploidy plants at 6 - 9 months is better than diploid teak, whereas diameter growth is better in the first 3 - 6 months of age. However, in 15 month observation, the physiological and morphological characteristics of tetraploidy teak are no better than diploid teaks, and this implies in growth rate that is no much better